Socceroos Secure 0-0 Draw and Advance to Last 32
In the end, the scoreboard in Santa Clara barely flickered, but for Australia the 0-0 with Paraguay felt like a door swinging open.
A point was all they needed. They took it without fuss, without panic, and with a maturity that belied the age of Tony Popovic’s squad. As runners-up in Group D, the Socceroos are into the last 32, their work in northern California enough to keep this World Cup campaign alive.
They had earned the right to control their own fate. A shock win over Turkey in their opener had lit the fuse, a reality check against co-hosts the United States had steadied the mood. Paraguay arrived as the final hurdle, and Australia treated the occasion like a job to be done, not a night for chaos.
Popovic backed youth again and got exactly what he wanted: grit, control, and a team that refused to blink when everything was on the line.
“We’ve seen already how many big nations have not gone through,” he reminded reporters afterwards. The subtext was clear. Australia are still standing.
Young steel at the back
If this was a night for composure, one player embodied it.
Lucas Herrington, just 18, walked into a World Cup start and walked off as the story of the game. The central defender, already Australia’s youngest starter at a men’s World Cup and already linked with Barcelona, looked like he belonged on a much older stage.
Popovic, a former Crystal Palace defender who knows what a top centre-back looks like, did not hide his admiration.
“He is a special talent,” he said, explaining that Herrington was never in the squad to make up the numbers. This was trust, not tokenism. “Again entrusted this talented young man in the most important game of the three.”
The teenager plays his club football in Major League Soccer, but this was another level. He wanted more, too. Popovic revealed Herrington had been frustrated to miss out on minutes against the United States. “Which I love to see,” the coach added. The hunger matters.
On Thursday, the response was emphatic. “Today he was outstanding.”
The match itself will not live long in the memory as a spectacle. It did not need to. Australia managed the tempo, stayed compact, and showed the “composure, patience, quality, and resilience” their coach demanded. Paraguay rarely dragged them into a shootout; the Socceroos rarely lost their shape. A stalemate that suited both sides became a quiet, professional march over the line.
Dallas on the horizon
Now comes the reward: a last-32 tie under a roof and under the lights.
Australia head to the air-conditioned home of the Dallas Cowboys on July 3, where they will face the team that finishes second in Group G. That pool is still sorting itself out, with Egypt, Iran, Belgium and regional rivals New Zealand all in the mix. Whoever emerges, Australia will arrive with a week’s breathing space and a clear plan.
“We’re delighted to have this break,” Popovic said. After three group games, the pause feels less like a luxury and more like a weapon. “We have a good plan in place to have all players that are fit, ready and able to produce a big performance that might give us a chance to progress even further.”
The tone was measured, but the ambition was unmistakable. “We’ll now go to Dallas and try and do something special,” he promised.
The group stage has already claimed its share of heavyweights. Australia, with a young core and a coach unafraid to lean on it, are still in the draw. The next question is no longer whether they belong here.
It’s how far this fearless, green-and-gold side can push the story.
